An optical connector arrangement generally provides an arrangement for the mating of optical fibers, particularly, the mating of two pairs of optical fibers. The arrangement includes connectors that mate at an adapter. A fiber optical cable is terminated at each connector. The cable contains individual optical fibers having ends which, when the cable is properly terminated, are disposed within the connector and positioned to be available for mating with other optical fibers.
Proper termination of fiber optical cable to a connector is important to ensure proper functioning of the fiber connection. Improper termination of a connector can lead to increased connector attenuation and internal reflections, degrading overall connector performance. Moreover, in order to provide for proper termination, the connector must be field polished, which is a time consuming process.
Various devices and methods of fiber connector termination exist. Epoxy-based connectors employ adhesive epoxy to retain the individual optical fibers within the connector, thus properly positioning the fiber to mate with an opposing fiber. Epoxy termination, however, is time consuming and labor intensive, requiring the preparation and curing of the epoxy. Terminating a connector using adhesive epoxy can take anywhere from several minutes to an hour or more and often requires use of an epoxy curing oven and associated tools. Thus, epoxy-based termination is not particularly suited for field termination of connectors.
The above discussed and other drawbacks and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome or alleviated by a mechanical splice optical fiber connector. In an exemplary embodiment, the optical fiber connector includes: a sliding actuator; an inner housing having a first end and an inner channel, the sliding actuator is engaged with the inner housing; and a ferrule assembly having a first side and a second side, the first side is mounted to the first end of the inner housing, the ferrule assembly includes a fiber stub extending from the second side, the fiber stub extends within the inner channel.